HYBE Workers, Accused Of Selling Stocks Before BTS Hiatus, Deny Acting On Insider Info: Report

Two former and a current employee of BTS’s agency, HYBE, have denied the charges of insider trading, according to a report. The employees were accused of selling company stocks before BTS publicly announced their hiatus for military enlistment, but they claimed they did not act on the undisclosed information. The first trial, held on October 22 by the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court, reportedly involved three individuals. These included former employees, referred to as A and B, and a current employee C from a HYBE subsidiary.

They are accused of violating the Capital Markets Act by trading stocks based on confidential information related to BTS’s activities.

During the trial, all three defendants strongly denied any wrongdoing. Their defence lawyers said, “While the defendants were aware of BTS member Jin’s enlistment in the military, they were not informed of the entire group’s hiatus or the specific timing of its announcement. They were also unaware that the enlistment itself could be considered undisclosed material information,” reports Allkpop.

In June 2022, BTS shared with their fans through their YouTube channel Bangtan TV that they would go on a break from group activities to focus on solo projects. This announcement reportedly caused HYBE’s stock price to plummet by 24.87% the following day.

Prosecutors argued the defendants, who were aware of the upcoming hiatus announcement, sold their shares between late May and early June 2022 to avoid losing approximately 233 million KRW (approx. 1.42 crore) once the news became public. It is alleged that the employees gained this information through their roles in the Visual Creative department or their involvement in protocol duties, where they learned about BTS’s enlistment and hiatus during the video shoot.

As per a report from Allkpop, the investigation was launched by the Financial Supervisory Service’s Special Judicial Police for Capital Markets, who handed the case to the prosecution in May. By June, the Financial Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office had indicted the three employees, though they were not detained.

The next court hearing for the case has been scheduled for November 26, where more details are expected to emerge.